Pressurized aerosol spray containers contain fluent liquid or solid particulate material which are forced through the outlet of the spray container by an appropriate propellant stored in the container, such as Freon gas or even air under pressure. The container has an outlet and the outlet is normally sealed closed by a valve. An actuator is associated with the valve such that operation of the actuator by the user of the aerosol spray container opens the valve and releases the pressurized material.
The valve includes a movable valve element. The valve opening into the container is associated with a valve seat. The valve element is biased into engagement with the valve seat in the container for normally keeping the valve sealed and the valve is opened upon appropriate manipulation of the actuator. The valve actuator typically includes a valve stem connected to the valve element and movable therewith. Movement of the valve stem raises the valve element off the valve seat and opens the valve.
The typical valve stem is provided with a passage extending through it which communicates into the container for receiving pressurized fluent material when the valve stem is moved to open the valve. The valve stem passage has an outlet that is normally outside the container. The pressurized material leaves the container through the valve stem outlet.
The actuator further comprises a spray head with an inlet that forms a continuous passage with the outlet from the valve stem and with an outlet that communicates with the spray head inlet and that sprays the fluent material. The outlet from the spray head is a nozzle, which is appropriately configured to provide the desired spray pattern for the fluent material. Such a spray pattern may be a narrow stream which is intended to impinge only upon a small area surface, or a wider spray pattern which is intended to impinge upon a greater width or height target or any other spray pattern which is desired for a particular application.
Conventional spray heads have only a single outlet nozzle and are, therefore, usually capable of only producing a single spray pattern. With respect to certain aerosol sprays, under varying circumstances that may arise, it may be desirable to enable the aerosol spray container to dispense materials in spray patterns which differ either in the area covered by the spray, or in the rate of discharge of the sprayed material or in other respects. One instance where selectable spray patterns might be needed is in connection with anti-personnel disabling sprays. In certain circumstances, it is desirable to be able to rapidly select between two different spray patterns, without relatively complicated manual manipulations being required for the selection. When a single person or object should be sprayed with an anti-personnel spray, then a narrower spray pattern would be desired. However, where a larger group of persons or a wider object is to be sprayed, then a second wider spray pattern would be desired. For example, in a police and/or military situation, a single offender may be approaching a police officer or soldier and he would wish to direct a narrow field of spray solely at the single person for disabling him. On the other hand, if a large group of perpetrators or adversaries is approaching the police officer or soldier, the adversaries may be widely separated and a wider spray pattern would be desired. In another situation, the police officer or soldier may have to spray rapidly, and over a wide area because of imminent danger from a number of separate sources or because he does not have time to aim a spray nozzle accurately. In the latter two situations, the police officer or soldier would like to be able, without complex manipulations, to simply dispense the wide area spray pattern.
Various techniques have been developed toward enabling various spray patterns to be emitted from an aerosol spray container. In one line of prior art, the spray head for the aerosol spray container, or the like spray container, is provided with a plurality of different outlets, each adapted to deliver a particular spray pattern. The spray head must initially be adjusted between different spray head orientations in order to effect communication between the desired outlet and the outlet valve of the container. Only after such manipulation has been completed, may the spray head be actuated to open the valve and spray the fluent material through the selected nozzle. This prior art has the drawback that two steps are required, first, manipulation to select the desired nozzle and second, operation of the spray head to spray the fluent material. In embodiments of this first line of prior art, the spray head is rotated so as to cause communication between a selected spray head outlet and the outlets from the container valve. Examples of this are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,762,650 and 3,083,872. Also of interest in showing various manipulations that are performed on the spray head before the spray head may be operated to open the valve is U.S. Pat. No. 3,258,208. In the latter reference, instead of rotating the spray head, the spray head is removed and inverted, with each orientation of the spray head positioning a different nozzle for communication with the outlet from the container valve.
In a second line of prior art, there is but a single outlet nozzle served by a plurality of different inlets into the valve for varying the rate of flow into the valve and, therefore, into the spray head which, of necessity, also varies the rate of flow out of the spray head. Examples of this are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,231,153 and 3,292,827. In both of these patents, the inlets to the valve inside the container are manipulated by operation of the spray head so as to cause communication between one or both of the inlets into the valve and, therefore, the spray head outlet. A structure requiring a plurality of openings at the valve inside the container requires fabrication of a special, hard to make valve.
In none of the prior art of which the inventor hereof has knowledge does the spray head itself serve to select one of a plurality of spray patterns and to make this selection simultaneously with and as a result of the extent of finger pressure applied to the spray head itself so that different finger pressure by itself selects a different outlet nozzle adapted thereby to produce a respective flow pattern from the spray head.